ORONO, Maine (NEWS CENTER)-- It seems everyday there is another accident involving a motorcyclist and the number of fatalities continue to rise.
According to Lauren Stewart the Director of Bureau of Highway Safety, there are thirteen reported fatal accidents compared to the seven reported this time last year.
Most accidents were due to traffic misjudgements between motorcyclists and cars Stewart said, "We are seeing when there are multiple vehicles involved is that a motorcycle and a car generally the car has not seen the motorcyclist."
Erik Payne with the Motorcycle Rider Education of Maine agreed with Stewart stressing the importance of motorcyclists having a heightened awareness. Payne said, "They [car drivers] don't see us for three months out of the year. When we do come out there's a lot of us. And we are smaller and harder to see. We admit that and they admit that so they can't judge our speed and distance."
The number of motorcycle registrations has increased in recent years and put more motorcycles on the roads.
According to the Bureau of Highway Safety, the early arrival of warm weather caused motorcycling season to start about two months earlier than usual.
Payne said he works to instill safe practices in his students and that education is key to keeping motorcyclists safe.
Payne said, "For motorcyclists, it's ninety percent mental and ten percent physical. We have to be more alert than other motorists because other motorists are the cause of a lot of motorcycle crashes."
It is important to note that almost seventy percent of the fatal crashes involved a motorcyclist not wearing the proper protective gear, such as a helmet.
NEWS CENTER